Sunday, June 27, 2010

Thursday, June 24, 2010

We visited our favorite doctor today for their 12 month check up. It was a good visit, other than the fact they had no air circulation in the room! They are still growing but she did mention their weight has leveled off a little. She said that is normal at this age and will pick up again between 2-3 yrs old. Lucas weighed in at 20lbs 2 oz and Ethan was 19lbs 12oz.

She said it was time to switch to whole milk and get rid of the bottles. YAY!! These were our intentions any way but we needed the boys to hear the dr say it so they couldn't argue! She also said to start phasing out any baby food they may still be eating and get to a diet of all table food. I have to admit that some times it's just easier to grab a jar but we've changed our routine some to accommodate a solid food dinner and it appears to be working. She also said since they're good eaters they really won't need a vitamin for now. Fine by me. We discussed Lucas' version of a crawl and she had no complaints since he's hitting his other milestones. She said it sounds like he's just going to skip crawling and walk. I'm still waiting for him to prove me right since I've been saying this all along. She said when they come back at 15 months they should be walking. As close as they seem to be, I don't foresee this being a problem.

Let's take a look at all the things they are doing these days....

Ethan:*You've started saying Uh-oh*You climb up stairs and have started to get daring enough to go down (completely supervised)*Drinking water from a sippy cup (I mean guzzling it down)*You grab your spoon wanting to feed yourself*You cruise every where. Nothing stops you!*You've become much more vocal.*You appear to be talking directly to your brother at times*When Bailey barks, you stop, look in her direction, and yell for her*You've started dancing, A LOT!!!! You love to shake your butt to any tune you hear!*You wear a smile on your face ALL.THE.TIME! *You love to be held but want to be down also so you can roam*You wear mostly 12 month clothes but you do have some 18 month items that fit you

Lucas:*You wave Bye Bye all the time but you've started waving Hi too*You've taken an interest in the stairs but haven't quite figured out how to climb up*You've started crawling, somewhat, on your knees but still revert back to your army crawl/worm*You've started pulling yourself up and now you don't want to be on your belly at all!*You're cruising everywhere using anything you can to balance on to move*You LOVE the sippy cup*You grab the spoon right out of my hands and feed yourself*You are constantly talking, yelling for mama or dada, yelling at your brother*You've taken a new interest in Bailey, reaching for her when she's near. Yelling for her when she's barking*You don't show a whole lot of interest in your brother but I do catch you talking to him sometimes*You cruise at a sprint and if you're holding someone's fingers, you basically run across the room*You're mostly in 12 months but have some clothes that are 18 months

It has been so much fun watching you grow! This next year is going to be just as entertaining :)

Monday, June 21, 2010

We have the sweetest boys ever and I just can't believe they turned 1 yesterday. This has been the most challenging but absolutely the best year of our lives. We really were doubly blessed with two boys and we couldn't have asked for better babies. It is such a joy and blessing being able to watch them grow and succeed.

We celebrated with a big party Saturday. We went with a monkey theme and had an adorable monkey cake to match. (My friend from high school, Brande Hayes, owns her own cake business. You can check her out on facebook...Have your cake) We even rented (at a very reduced rate) a bouncy house for the adults kids. We had a birthday banner hanging from our front porch. It was super hot but it was a great day. The boys were passed around while everyone ate. Then we took them outside to eat in their highchairs followed by cake. We sang "Happy Birthday" to each of them individually and then gave them each their own giant cupcake made by yours truly to tear in to. IT WAS ADORABLE!!! I have a video that I haven't uploaded yet but once I do, it will be on here asap! After cupcake destruction, we had to follow up with a bath and change into birthday outfit #2. We then sat down to open gifts. Getting two boys to pay attention long enough to open a lot of gifts is virtually impossible. Ethan was distracted by one of the first gifts but Lucas held on and helped open most of his. They loaded up for sure! We are so thankful to all of our family and friends who helped us celebrate such a special day!!

Sunday, their actual birthday, we had a lay low kind of day. We spent it as a four person family playing with their new toys, hanging out in their little pool, and spending time with daddy for Father's Day. There was a lot to do leading up to the party, a lot going on during the party, so yesterday we rested. It was a great weekend though!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

We are currently preparing for the boys 1st birthday party. I'm planning and trying to get the house in order (including finishing projects around the house I hadn't gotten around to), James is working to pay for everything, and the boys are hitting milestones and acting like toddlers more every day.

Let's start with the boys :)Ethan:*He's finally realized that he can stand up and balance without holding on to anything. He would unknowingly let go of things and stand up while focusing on something else. Today he held up his hands in what I'd call a "I don't know" or "I didn't do it" way. I thought he was playing around because of the smile on his face but then I realized he wasn't holding on to anything and he was so proud of himself. He did it a few times before he moved on to something else. Walking is right around the corner. Holy cow!!*He seems to be done with the bottle, or at least the formula. We're basically on all people food along with the bottles but over the last few days, he will not finish his bottles. We were planning to stop them at 12 months anyway so he's right on schedule. *He bites. This I'm kind of struggling with. Sometimes "No Bite" works, some times it doesn't. When it doesn't, I don't really know what to do aside move him and distract him. Is he learning not to bit though? I don't know.*We've graduated to the big boy bath with brother. No more ducky tub. He loves it. He acts in the tub the way he acts in the pool. He splashes and tries to crawl around.

Lucas:*He's crawling, sort of. He does what I call a combo of the worm and an army crawl. It's crazy funny but he gets to where he's going. As for the cruising, he's non stop. Once they're both walking, I'm in big trouble :)*He bites too. *He seems to like the big tub until Ethan tries to crawl over him to get a toy or play with the froggy faucet cover.*He's sort of a picky eater. He still loves his bottle but likes drinking water from the sippy cup. *He's developed a speed walk. He loves walking when holding your fingers but over the last few days he sprints across the room. He's so funny

Me:For the party: I still need to buy food for the party. Touch base with the cake lady. Collect card tables and chairs from my sister. Make their cupcake cakes that each of them will get to tear in to. For the house: I need to get rugs and paint a few nautical scenes for the new bathroom decor for the boys' bathroom. Once it's complete I will post pictures. I decided to paint our guest bedroom this week. (what was i thinking??) It was such a dark dark blue that the room felt small and cavelike. I figured I'd get it painted and decorated for the party. Uh, no. I'll have it painted but it won't be completed as far as my concept for the room. We're making the basement our playroom to get all of the toys and such out of our living room. Plus, the basement is just one big room with no furniture with sharp corners and no need for a baby gate. It's a much more toddler friendly environment. I need to move everything into the basement to get it set up so that other kids that come over have a place to play as well. Our dining room is a bold orange (sounds crazy but it is a pretty color) that is in need of some decor on the walls. Again, I never got around to it. Tonight I sketched out on canvas what I want to paint, now I just need to take the time to paint it. How in the world am I going to finish all of this? Guess I better take out the Super Mommy cape and get down to business!!

Friday, June 11, 2010

I have so much to post about the boys, but I need to take time to send big Congratulations to Shannon (MrsDutchie) and her husband. They welcomed their sweet baby boy on June 10 at 12:14am...just 14 minutes over her due date. I couldn't be happier for them.

I "met" Shannon on the nest, when it was still the nest, back in 2007. Over time, we got to really know each other by computer and phone. I called her the morning after finding out we were expecting twins and after we found out they were boys. She called often while I was on bedrest in the hospital to check on me. We cried together on the phone when she told me she was pregnant. She is a wonderful person and I consider her a really great friend. Last October we actually got to meet when she and her husband came to KY for a convention. She had just recently found out she was pregnant so it was such a joyful meeting. I was so excited for her to meet the boys. I am so excited that they are coming back this October so I'll get to meet her sweet boy and our boys can all meet! It's amazing that out of pain and struggle, I developed such great friendships (I'm talking to all my momma's out there that I keep in touch with!!)